LAUSR

Eccrine porocarcinoma (EPC) was first described by Pinkus & Mehregan in 1963 (1) as “epidermotropic eccrine carcinoma” and is the malignant counterpart of eccrine poroma. It is a rare tumour (0.005–0.01% (2, 3) of cutaneous tumours), thought to arise from the acrosyringium of the sweat gland of the skin. The term “porocarcinoma” was first used by Mishima & Morioka in 1969 (4). Although initial case series suggested that this was a highly aggressive tumour, with approximately 60% of cases reported to have local recurrence, metastases or death, later larger case series of 18, 24 and 27 patients, respectively, did not support such an aggressive natural history (3, 5, 6) The largest case series to date (69 cases) in 2001 (7), reported EPC as a less aggressive tumour, with 17% local recurrence, 19% lymph node metastasis and 11% distant metastases or death. This study analysed the age-standardised incidence rates for the population of the East of England (East Norfolk and Waveney), and estimated the numbers of cases likely to be found here and in the UK for 2020, 2025 and 2030. This cohort (n = 152) is the largest reported so far and there are long-term follow-up data for recurrences, metastases and survival/death, thus helping to clarify the natural history of this tumour.